Control device for mixing machines



April 15, 1930. A. H. PLATE CONTROL DEVICE FOR MIXING MACHINES Filed Oct. 6, 1923 4 Sheets-Shet 1 J8 INVENTOR ATTORNEY A ril 5, 1930. A. H. PLATE v 1,754,284

CONTROL DEVICE FOR MIXING MACHINES Ft(i.12 10 WITNESSES INVENT'QR I {iii-5:53

April 15, 1930. A. H. PLATE 1,754,284

CONTROL DEVICE FOR MIXING MACHINES Filed 001;. 6, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 -FIG. 6

WITNESSES INVENTOR April 15, 1930. A. H. PLATE CONTROL DEVICE FOR MIXINGVMACHINES Filed 001;. 6, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VEN TOR W14. PM,

I 03nd. ATTORNEY WITNESSES Patented Apr. 15, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE ALBERT H. PLATE, MILW'AUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR T0 DUBANT MANUFAC- TUBING COMPANY, OF MILWAUKEE, VTISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN CONTROL DEVICE FOR MIXING MACHINES Application filed October 6, 1923.

The invention relates to control devices for mixing machines, and more particularly to devices now generally known as batch-meters.

Batch-meters, while applicable generally to different kinds of mixing machines, have become especially valuable for machines for mixing concrete, as they compel the operator to run the machine for a sufiicient length of time, or number of operations of the mixer af- 1 ter the aggregates have been introduced therein, to insure the proper mixing of said aggregates before they can be discharged from the mixer. Such machines generally include automatic signaling mechanism, counting and mixer discharge controlling means.

I am familiar with the patented art and those machines which are now in commercial use, and find that they are open to improvement, and the object of this invention is to provide a batch-meter embodying improvements in the timing mechanism, the mechanism for changing the timing, the operative connections between said mechanisms, and the connections between said mechanisms and the mixing machines.

With the above and other objects in view, the invent-ion consists in the several features hereinafter set forth and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof;

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a detail side elevation view of a mixing machine having the invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a detail front end view of the mixing machine equipped with the device embodying the invention;

Fig. 3 is an elevation view of the mechanism within the casing of the device, the

clockwork mechanism being omitted and parts being broken away;

Fig. 4 is a detail view, partly in section, taken on the line 4- 1 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on the line 66 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a view, partly in section and on an enlarged scale, of parts shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view, partly in sec 'tion, of parts of the mechanism;

Serial No. 666,980.

*ig. 12 is a detail sectional View taken on the line 1212 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a supporting plate, 11 a cover or iousing secured to the plate by suitable studs 12, said plate being provided with holes 13 for bolting it to the frame 14 of a mixing machine 15 of suitable construction, here shown as including a revoluble mixing drum 16, a

charging hopper or chute 17 and a discharge chute 18.

The timing mechanism preferably includes a clockwork drive mechanism 19 which has not been shown in detail as the details of construction may be varied in many respects and as the invention is not directed to the clockwork mechanism per se but to its association with a batch-ineter. This mechanism includes a main spring 20 connected at one end to a drive or main spring shaft 21, a pawl 22 engaging a ratchet wheel 23 on the shaft 21 to permit winding up of the main spring by the turning of the shaft 21 and clockwork gearing, escapement controlled, including a gear 24 turned by the unwinding of the main spring (Fig. 6). lVithout further description and detailed showing it will be understood that this clockwork mechanism may be wound up by the turning of the shaft 21 in one direction and that said shaft is turned in the opposite direction at a predetermined rate by the clockwork. This clockwork mechanism is enclosed in a case 25 which is mounted on studs or bolts 26 in front'of the other moving parts of the machine, and is removable as a unit without interfering with the other parts or their connections. This is one of the important features of the present design for if the clockwork should need repair it may be readily removed and replaced with another and the defective mechanism returned to the factory where it may be more properly takecare of. The only moving part that projects from the case is the squared end 21 of the shaft 21. The purpose of the clockwork mechanism is to drive the timer hereinafter described at a predetermined rate.

The timer includes a cap 27, a cam ring composed of half rings 28, and a tubular shell 29, all secured together by screws 30, and a timer hub 31 revolubly mounted within the shell 29 and held in alinement by screws 32 on said shell running in an annular groove 33 in said hub (Figs. 6 and 8). The cap 27 has a square hole 34 to receive the drive shaft 21 whereby the parts connected thereto are rotated by or will turn the drive shaft 21 (Figs. 3 and 4). caused by a moving part of the mixing machine, extends loosely through the hub 31 and has a pawl plate 36 pinned thereto, and timer pawls 37 are pivotally mounted on pins 38 carried by this plate and spaced therefrom to cooperate with the half rings 28 against which they are urged by a spring 39 (Figs. 6 and 7). When these pawls engage with what may be termed toothed portions 40 of these ring members and the shaft 35 is turned counter-clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 7, the parts connected to said ring will be rotated. The extent of rotation is determined by means for releasing the pawls from driving engagement with the ring members which consists of cams 41 projecting from the hub 31 and in the path of movement of rollers 42, revolubly mounted on the outer ends of said pawls, said rollers when engaging said cams while moving with the cam ring causing the pawls 37 to release their driving connection With said ring after they have moved said ring through a certain arc of movement which is determined by the position of the cams 41; that is, the timing hub. The hub is movable to different positions and retained in adjusted position by means of a screw shaft 43, a feed nut 44 and a link 45 operatively connecting said nut with the hub 31 (Figs. 3 and 7 The screws or adjusting shaft 43 is adapted to be turned from outside the casing by a key 46 engaging the squared end. of said shaft. The shaft 43 is also pre vented from rotation except by said key by a detent mechanism, such as shown in Fig. 5, in cluding a ball 47 urged by a spring 48 into engagement with an one of a series of recesses 49 on said shaft.

The device above described is called a timer because it determines the time during which the discharge chute of the mixer shall be locked. and by its movement controls the release of the locking mechanism for the dis charge chute. For causing this action it controls the operation of a release lever 50 which is in the form of a bell crank pivoted at 51 and having a roller 52 engaging the peripherv of the timer and held thereagainst by a spring said lever adapted to engage a A shaft 35, whose movement is I projection 54 on a release lever latch 55 to release said latch from engagement with a carrier lever 56 when a notch 57 in the timer registers with the roller 52. In the present design this condition obtains when the tlmer has moved to bring the notch 57 in a substantially vertical position.

The are of movement of the notch 57 from its set position, as indicated in Fig. 3, to its release position, as indicated in Fig. 7, is the factor which determines the time of mixing. and any particular timing is obtained by the adjustment of the hub 31 rel ative to the pawls 37 since these pawls act to move the parts in which the notch 57 1s located and are released when the notch 57 reaches its set position by the action of the cams 41.

The release lever latch 55 is pivotally mounted on a pin 58 on the roller carrying arm of the lever 50 and is held in a position to act as a stop for the carrier lever 56 by a spring 59. In acting as a stop the end 60 of said latch engages a laterally projecting lug 61 on the lever 56 (Fig. 3, 4 and 6), and as said latch is engaged by the lever 50 it is carried down by said lever on the downward movement of said lever 50 when the notch 57 registers with the roller 52 whereupon the end 60 is released from the lug 61 and the carrier lever 56 moves to the position shown in Fig. 7. O11 the resetting of the device the lever 56 swings back and the spring 59 permits the latch 55 to move downwardly during resetting.

The carrier lever 56 has a hub portion 62 journalled in bearings 63in the plate 10 and also rotatably mounted on the shaft 35. This hub 62 extends beyond the bearings 63 and has a lock lever hub 64 keyed thereto. A flanged collar or operating flange 65 is keyed to the outer end of the shaft 35 and is connected to move the hub 64 and to move relative thereto by having a radially disposed laterally extending lug 66 adapted to move from the position shown in Fig. 10 to engage a projection 67 on the hub 64 and thereby move said hub and the parts associated with it.

The operating flange 65 is normally held by a spring 68 in the position shown in Fig. 10, a radially disposed laterally extending projection 69 being then in engagement with a stop projection 70 on the plate 10. The other extreme position of movement of the flange 65 is determined by the engagement of projection 69 with a stop projection 71 on the plate 10.

The swinging of the flange 65 is effected by any suitable operating connection with the charging means of the mixer and by way of illustration I have shown an operating rod 72 connected to a bar 7 3 bolted to the flange 65 and having a depending end 72 in the path of a part of the charging means, such as the pivot bracket 74 of. the hopper, to enable said bracketto bump against said end andthereby push said rod 72 forwardly each time the loading bucket or chute 17 is hoisted to supply a batch of material to the mixing drum 16 (Fig, 1). The hoisting means for the bucket or chute has not been. shown in detail but reference is here made to Patent No. 1,321,460, to E. H. Lichtenberg, dated November 11, 1919, as showing a paver to which my invention may be applied, though it maybe applied to other typesof mixers. The flange has a plurality of holes to receive the clamping bolts 73 so that thevbar may be properly adjusted relative to said flange and rod 72 to give said flange the proper movement when the device is installed ondifferent makes and designs of mixers.

The hub 64, through a spring 76, moves a lock lever 77, said lever being pivotally connected by a bolt 78 to a lug 79 on the hub 64 and also having a lug or shoe which engages with the cylindrical surface 81 of said hub (Figs. 10'and 11'). This lever 77 is pro- .1 vided with a plurality of holes 82, any one of which may pivotally receive the upper end of a locking rod 83 (Figs. 1 and 2) which extends through a guide 84 on the frame of the machine and has its lower end movable into locking engagement with a locking cam or lugon the discharge chute operating shaft 86 which shaft is operativelyconnected to the discharge chute 18 in any suitable manner, it being understood that the chute is operated, in any manner known to the art, by the turning of, the shaft 86 by the operator through theagency of the handle 87.

The use of the spring 76 is important in thatit provides a yielding drivebetween the hub 64 and the lever 77 which prevents breakage of these parts ifby any chance the locking rod 83 should engage the cam 85 and be prevented from moving down because of the operators neglect to move the discharge chute A .7 to inoperative position at the time that the hub 64? is turning to movesaid' rod down to.

locked position.

l'Vhen the rod 72 moves forwardly it swings the bar 73 upwardly from the position shown J in Fig. 10 to a position in which projection 69 engages the lug 71. During this movement the lug 66 strikes the projection 67 and this swings the hub 64 in a clockwise direction. as viewed in Fig. 10. This movement of'the hub 64 is transmitted to the locklever consequently the lever 77 and'rod 83 are held in locked position. The movement of the operating flange. 65 by-the. bar 73' also turns the. shaft 35 and thus causes the-pawls 37 to turn the timer from a position shown in Fig. 7 to a position shown in Fig. 3 which, however, will be understood as only relative as the travel of; the notch 57 will be determined by the adjustment of the timer hub, as previously explained,and their travel; only dependent on said hub and not upon the total swing or turn of the shaft 35. The rotation of the timer shell including the plate-27 winds up the-main spring 20'and thus winds up the cloclnvork. Thus, it will be observed that the actuation of the bar 73 and turningof the flange 65 clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 10, movesthe discharge chute locking means-to locked position, resets the lever 56 to maintain said locking means in locked position, and winds up the clockwork or motive power means for'the timer. The return movement of the bar 73 under the action of the spring 68,, on the release of rod 72 by the lowering of the hopper 17, has ho effect on the hub 64. and. the parts associated therewith, nor upon the se-t position of the timer since the pawls 37 have been released from driving connection with the half rings 28 by the cams 41 and said dogs now slide over the inner edges of said cam rings, as shown in Fig. 3. The hopper has dischargedv the aggregates in. the rotating drum and the timer now driven by the clockwork starts to turn slowly in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 3. The mixer then operates without interruption cluringthe time it takes. for the notch 57 to travel from set position to release position, as shown in Fig. 7, and during this entire period the. discharge chute is locked so that an etficient mix is assured. When the timer reaches its release position the release lever 5O swings down disengaging the latch 54 from the carrierlever 56 which, under the action of a spring 89, swings down as shown in Fig. 7, thusturning the hub 64 and lever 7 7 to move the rod'83 away from the cam 85 to unlocked position sothat the operator may then. turn the shaft86 to move the discharge chute 18 to discharging position.

At the completion of the timing operation it has been noted that the carrier lever 56 swings fromthe position shown in. Fig. 3- to that shown in Fig. 7 and this movement is utilized to actuate a counting or recording mechanism 90of any suitable construction operatively connected to said lever by a, link 91 and to actuate the signallingmechanism. This signalling mechanism, as shown in Fig. 3. comprises a gong 92 mounted on the plate 10 outside of the casingv 11', a reciprocating.- plunger-type striker. 93 normally held by a spring 94in a position to be engaged by a lever or hammer 95 pivoted ona pin 96 and held down by a spring 97, said. lever having a stop projection 98 engaged by a latch 99; pivotally mounted onthe lower end of-thecarrier lever 56. With this constructionthe latch 99, moved by the lever 56 into engagement with projection 98, swings the lever 95 upwardly until it is automatically disengaged therefrom by reason of the shape of the abutting parts of the latch and projection, and when said lever is disengaged it swings down against the plunger 93, causing it to strike the gong and thereby indicate to the operator that the mix is completed and the discharge chute is unlocked. The return movement of the carrier lever 56 moves the latch 99 back to the position shown in Fig. 3, said latch being normally held down adjacent the lever 95 by a coiled spring 100. A glass plate 101 is provided in the casing facing the dial of the counter through which the registered number of batches may be read.

From the foregoing description it will be noted that I have provided a readily adjustable timing mechanism preferably operated by clockwork wound up by the operation of one of the parts of the mixer, said timing mechanism serving to lock the mixer discharge means against actuation for a predetermined period and causing the actuation of a signal at the end of this period, together with a register of the batch by a suitable re-' cording or counting mechanism, thereby providing a counter-check on the cement used in a days work. The batch-meter insures regularity in discharge of each batch and times the charging and discharging of the batch so that it establishes a known mixing period which is so fixed as to standardize the quality of the concrete.

I desire it to be understood that this invention is not to be limited to any specific form or arrangement of parts except in so far as such limitations are specified in the claims.

hat I claim as my invention is:

1. In a mixing machine, the combination of timing mechanism including a movable control member, a setting shaft, a clutch including a pawl on said shaft engaging a part of said control member for moving it to a set position, a settable member for releasing said pawl from actuating engagement with said control member when said control member has reached the desired set position, and means for actuating said control member during its timing period.

2. In a mixing machine, timing mechanism including in combination a casing forming a movable control member, a setting shaft, a clutch including a pawl on said shaft within said casing engaging a part thereof to move said casing to set position, a settable hub within said casing provided with cam means for releasing said pawl from actuating engagement with said control member when said control member has reached the desired seti position, and means for actuating said control casing during its timing period, and means operatively connecting said control casing with a part of said mixing machine to prevent interference by the operator with the mixing operation fora predetermined period.

3. In a mixing machine,-ti1ning mechanism including in combination a rotary control member, means for driving said member during its timing period, means for moving said member to set position including a setting shaft, a releasable clutch member mounted on said shaft, means for releasing said clutch member including a settable member and an adjusting means operatively connected thereto.

4. In a mixing machine, the combination of a rotary timing member provided with a notch, a release lever having an end running on said timing member, a latch on said release lever, a carrier lever engaged by said latch and released therefrom when said notch registers with the end of said release lever, and means operatively connecting said carrier lever with a part of said mixing machine whereby to prevent interference by the operator with the mixing operation of said ma.- chine for a predetermined period determined by the movement of said timing member from a predetermined position to the position in which said release lever engages said notch.

5. In a batch-meter for mixing machines, the combination with the mixer discharge mechanism of a rotary timing member provided with a notch, a release lever having an end running on said timing member, a latch on said release lever, a spring-pressed carrier lever engaged by said latch and released therefrom when said notch registers with the end of said release lever, and mixerdischarge locking mechanism including a lock lever and a lock lever hub operatively connected to said carrier lever, and resetting means including a member engageable with said lock lever hub.

6. In a batch-meter for mixing machines, the combination with the mixer discharge mechanism of a timing mechanism including a timer and spring-drive means therefor, a release lever controlled by said mechanism, a latch on said release lever, a spring-operated carrier lever engaged by said latch and released therefrom on the operation of said release lever, mixer-discharge locking mechanism including a lock lever and a lock lever hub operatively connected to said carrier lever, and means including a shaft for rewinding said spring-drive means, and a member on said shaft engageable with said hub to reset said carrier lever, latch and release lever. I

7. In a batch-meter for mixing machines, the combination with the mixer discharge device of a timing mechanism, a release lever controlled by said mechanism, a latch on said release lever, a spring-operated carrier lever engaged by said latch and released therefrom on the. operation of said release lever,

locking mechanism for mixer discharge device including a lock lever hub secured to said carrier lever, a lock lever, and a compressible spring interposed between said hub and said lock lever.

8. In a mixing machine, the combination. of a casing, a timing mechanism including a rotary control member, means for driving said member during its timing period, means for moving said member to set position, including a clutch, means for releasing said clutch, including a settable member, keycontrolled means adjustable from outside said casing and operable to adjust the position of said settable member, and means operatively connecting said control member with a. part of said mixing machine to prevent interference by the operator with the mixing operation for a predetermined period.

9. In a mixing machine, the combination of a casing, a timing mechanism including a movable control member, a setting shaft, a clutch including a pawl on said shaft engageable with said control member to move it 1 to set position, a settable member associated with said control member and provided with cam means for releasing said pawl from actuating engagement with said control member when said control member has reached the desired set position, an adjusting shaft, under the control of the operator, operative- 1y connected to said settable member to move it to the desired set position, means for actuating said control member during its timing period, and means operatively connecting said control member with a part of said mixing machine to prevent interference by the operator with the mixing operation for a predetermined period.

10. In a batch-meter, timing mechanism including in combination a rotary timing cam, spring motor means for driving said cam during its timing period, means for winding up said motor means and moving the said cam to set position, settable means determining the extent of winding of said spring motor means, and a release lever having a part riding on and controlled by said cam.

11. In a batchmeter, timing mechanism including in combination a rotary, cylindrical, timing member provided with a notch, spring motor means for driving said member during its timing period, means for winding up said motor means and moving said timing member to set position, settable means, determining the extent of winding of said spring motor means, and a release lever engageable with the notch in said member at the end of its timing period.

12. In a mixing machine, timing mechanism comprising a spring motor, a winding shaft, a connection between said motor and shaft including a releasable clutch member mounted on said shaft and a timing'control member engageable with said clutch mem-- 

